Introduction

In 1874 a company called Sholes and Glidden developed the QWERTY keyboard layout for their typewriters in order to decrease the frequency of mechanical failure. Although modern keyboards have little in common with their antiquated ancestors, the traditional layout and design persist to this day. When typewriters vanished into the mists of temporal obscurity, the classical keyboard was reinvented as a computer peripheral. Even though the next generation of young technology enthusiasts will probably have to visit a museum to see a real typewriter, the legacy of Sholes and Glidden is likely to live longer than I will. Most users are entirely satisfied with their trusty keyboard and its anachronistic layout. Others have moved on to the Dvorak layout, but as an intrepid technology enthusiast with an eye for efficiency, I frequently look for superior alternatives.

I have tried a number of innovative alternative input devices over the years, and although many of them are extremely useful within particular contexts, I have yet to find one that can meet all of my needs better than the conventional keyboard and mouse. I recently discovered the US$99 AlphaGrip AG-5 and decided to put it to the test.

After lots of research and five revisions, the perfectionists at AlphaGrip finally decided that they had a product worthy of marketing, and they released the long awaited AG-5. Although the AG-5 looks strange and intimidating, it is a unique and highly innovative product that deserves consideration, particularly by mobile computing enthusiasts. The AG-5 interfaces with computers via a single removable USB cable. It uses a simple chord-like keyboarding model and an integrated trackball to provide complete keyboard and mouse functionality in a unique form factor that looks a bit like a console gaming controller.

Like most other devices in its class, the AG-5 confronts new users with a steep learning curve. For the average computer user, the time required to learn a whole new keyboard layout is seldom worth the reward, but like most other power users, I am generally willing to go to extreme lengths to improve my computing efficiency.

When viewed from the front, the AG-5 looks suspciously like an alien lifeform.

The back of the device features multidirectional buttons, a USB port, and an expansion port.